Chester Bennington’s Widow Seemingly Approves of New Linkin Park Singer
Chester Bennington’s widow, Talinda, seemingly shared her approval of new Linkin Park singer Emily Armstrong.
Armstrong shared the post below on Instagram on September 9. The post features a photo of Armstrong from Linkin Park’s recent livestream concert, and she captioned it, “I’m so beyond excited for this next chapter!! The love and support does not go unnoticed. See you all soon.”
In the comment section of Armstrong’s post, Talina left a comment of three fire emojis. As of publishing, Talina’s comment has received 1,530 likes and 51 replies, many of which are positive about her support.
Not all replies to Talina’s comment were positive, though, with some referencing Chester Bennington’s son, Jaime, and his anger and disappointment about Linkin Park reforming with Armstrong as the singer.
On Sept. 9, Jaime took to his Instagram Story with some very critical remarks about Linkin Park and specifically addressed his frustrations to Mike Shinoda. Jaime began, “Hey Mike! (I’d mention you, but you restricted my interactions with you because you don’t like what I have to say. So, this will have to do.) People aren’t having a difficult time wrapping their head around the prospect of Linkin Park reinventing itself. They are have a hard time wrapping their head around how you: 1. Hired your friend of many years, @emilyarmstrong, to replace @chesterbe knowing Emily’s history in the Church [of Scientology] and her history as an ally to @dannymasterson is what it is.”
Armstrong’s ties to the Church of Scientology and actor Danny Masterson received a lot of backlash following the announcement of her being revealed as the new singer for Linkin Park. On September 6, Armstrong issued a state via her Instagram Stories saying, “I’m new to so many of you, and I wanted to clear the air about something that happened a while back. Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and went to one early hearing as an observer. Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged and he was later found guilty. To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes.”
Jaime also accused Shinoda and Linkin Park of erasing his father’s “life and legacy” and noted the rebooting of the band came during Suicide Prevention Month. (Chester Bennington died by suicide in July 2017 at age 41.)
